Much to Be Thankful For
by Trinity Everett
Summary: Rick Castle has much to be thankful for this year, including the people in his life who try to set him up with a gorgeous woman named Kate Beckett. Caskett AU, Job AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Much to Be Thankful For**

 **A Caskett AU**

* * *

"Mr. Castle, are you married?"

It wasn't the first time he'd been asked that, and he had no doubt that it would be the last, but still Rick chuckled.

Miranda and Ben were the last ones out on the last day of classes before Thanksgiving, but he could see the shadows of their friends lurking in the doorway, waiting for his answer. Cocking his head to one side, he met the girl's wide eyes, noting the way her cheeks flushed under his scrutiny. Her companion shifted beside her as well, looking less confident than he had just a few minutes ago.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have – it was a dare – I'll just go. We'll go. Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Castle."

This time a full-blown laugh spilled from his lips. "Guys, it's okay. You didn't offend me. To answer your question, no, I'm not married. I have been, but it didn't stick for some reason."

Well, one very large reason, but he had learned to recognize that there were many issues with his short-lived marriage to Meredith, beyond coming home to find her in bed with her director.

His students stopped in the doorway, sharing a look before turning back to him. He could see the curiosity in their eyes.

"Oh," Ben started, his voice low. "I'm sorry."

Rick lifted a shoulder, shrugging off the sympathy. That part of his life was over a long time ago. "It is what it is, Ben, don't worry about it." Off their skeptical looks, he added, "She said I corrected her grammar too much, so I would say it's for the best. Wouldn't you?"

That got a laugh out of the kids. He smiled too, getting up from the desk he'd perched on during dismissal and moving to gather his things at his own.

"What about a girlfriend?" Ben continued.

"Why do you ask?"

Again, the kids shared a look. Interesting. He was used to the curiosity – he had heard all the variations on the question before, after all – but this seemed to go beyond that.

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Miranda asked quickly, rising on the balls of her feet. The heels of her boots tapped the linoleum in quick succession as she dropped back down.

"I–" he started, closing his mouth while he tried to make sense of their intentions. "Guys, if you're trying to invite me to dinner, I appreciate it, but I'll be having a wonderful feast with my mother and some friends of ours. You don't need to worry about me."

Closing his lesson planner, he glanced up to find them looking out in the hall, mouthing something to the stragglers waiting for them. Rick watched Miranda's lips purse, saw her head bob up in confirmation.

"Why don't you head home, guys?" he suggested, sliding the book into his satchel. "Enjoy your break to the fullest. Make some mischief – wait, no, that's Halloween."

Miranda giggled, nudging her friend with her elbow and mouthing "now" to him. Clearly it was the boy's turn in whatever scheme they'd cooked up.

"You should ask Ms. Beckett out," Ben blurted. "I mean, obviously not for Thanksgiving since you have plans–"

"–And she has plans too," Miranda added, helpful.

"–and that might be weird anyway, since it's a holiday. But maybe on Friday?" Ben finished.

"But she totally likes you, everyone can see it!" Miranda insisted, picking up where her friend left off.

Ben nodded in agreement, removing his hands from his pockets to reveal two flat plastic cards, not dissimilar to the ones in Rick's wallet. "Anyway, we got these, and they're for you. So, here. Take her somewhere nice."

Rick stared at the pair of cards Ben placed on his desk, stunned. They were… okay, they were trying to set him up with a fellow teacher. That was nice. Odd, especially considering the timing, but still rather touching nonetheless.

"Ben, I can't take these. I – thank you for the gesture, but I really can't take these from you. You should use them." He peeled the gift cards from the desk surface, offering them back to his students.

Shaking their heads, both Ben and Miranda stepped back, scurrying to the door.

"It's a gift. You can't give back a gift, Mr. Castle. That's just rude," Miranda quipped, glancing over her shoulder. "Have a good break – and ask Ms. Beckett out!"

Rick laughed, waving goodbye to them, nodding to the other juniors who were still loitering outside his classroom.

"Go home," he ordered, allowing the corners of his lips to tick upward, betraying his attempt at sounding stern.

Once they were gone – really gone this time – he allowed himself to glance down at the gift cards in his hand. It wasn't the first time his students had tried to set him up with a woman he worked with, it wasn't even the first time they'd suggested gorgeous Kate Beckett from the history department as his date, but none had ever been so forward as to provide money for the meal.

His laughter bounced off the empty chairs.

"Crazy kids," he murmured, pocketing the gift cards and going back to packing up his desk. As much as he hated to bring work home over the break, he had a pile rough drafts to be graded and handed back the day they returned to school.

"They got to you too, huh?"

Spinning, he found Kate Beckett leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest, her messenger bag already on her shoulder. She lifted an eyebrow at his surprise, glancing around the empty room.

"Did I startle you?" she asked, amused, pushing away from the door. Rick allowed his eyes to drop from her face to trace the long lines of her legs, the sway of her hips before his gaze drifted back up her body. Kate smirked at his less-than-casual perusal. He'd never been subtle when it came to checking her out.

"Ah, no." Kate smirked at his unconvincing denial. "But I'm glad to see you," Rick added, watching her brighten at that. "You ready to get out of here?"

His girlfriend's head dropped back as a groan fell from her lips. "God, yes. But we have to go straight to the store if you expect to be able to get a turkey that will thaw in time."

Shit, she was right. He'd been putting off shopping, but if they wanted to have a chance in hell of the bird being ready to cook by Thanksgiving Day, it had to be done today. Otherwise, he would be using the gift cards to help pay for dinner for everyone in his house.

"Right, yes. Okay, let's go," he swore, zipping his bag and lifting it onto his shoulder. He caught her hand on the way up the aisle between desks, squeezing her fingers and releasing them before they reached the door. Rick gestured for her to walk ahead of him as he killed the lights and closed his classroom for the rest of the week.

"You didn't answer, you know," Kate reminded him once they were on the subway, sitting shoulder to shoulder, their groceries (massive Butterball turkey included) in eco-friendly bags at their feet.

Rick blinked. "What didn't I answer?"

"Did you get the talk from your kids?"

Rick grinned. "The talk? No, I got that from my mom when I was in the seventh grade."

She rolled her eyes, bumping his shoulder with hers. "You know what I mean, wiseass. Miranda and Ben? Was that the same talk I got from Lucy and Brynn?"

"I don't know," he said, leaning in to brush his mouth over hers. "Was it about whether you're married or dating, and then an order to ask me out?"

Kate barked a laugh. "Something like that. You might have come up once or twice."

He leered. "Yeah I did. Did they give you gift cards too?"

She shook her head, grinning.

"Huh." He patted the pocket where he'd stashed the cards. "They're so working hard to make this happen, I would've expected them to cover all their bases."

Kate hummed, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "Well, they're obviously expecting you to make the first move and woo me, Mr. Castle, not the other way around," she teased.

"If they only knew how backwards they had it," he mused, remembering the shyness in her eyes when she'd asked him out the first time, the softness of her hands on his cheeks and her breath on his lips at the end of their first date. They were nothing if not equals in their relationship, always had been; he wouldn't have it any other way.

His girlfriend smiled, nodding against his jacket. "They'll learn."

Rick made a noise of agreement, lowering his chin so his cheek brushed the crown of her head. "But oh, while you were grabbing the stuff for the gravy, I picked up ingredients to make that mixed berry espresso cheesecake you adore. How's that for wooing?"

She chuckled, slipping her fingers down the suede sleeve of his jacket to tuck her hand into his. Their palms kissed, fingers bumped before interlocking, and he dusted a kiss over her hair in reply.

"You woo me just fine, Rick," Kate assured after a moment, lifting their joined hands to her lips. "But the cheesecake will totally help."

Well, that was good to know. Of course, he had more than a dessert for her, but the rest was a surprise for when he woke her on Thanksgiving Day and made it clear to her how grateful he was to have her in his life.

* * *

 ** _Prompt from anonymous_ _: we're both high school teachers and our students ship us but little do they know we're already secretly dating Caskett AU._**

 _A/N: To my prompter,_ _I am so incredibly sorry that it's taken me so long to write this for you. I hope you're still out there, and I hope you enjoy it if you are._

 _I am so thankful for all of you, for the friendships I've made, and for the fact that you all still allow me to share my words with you. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this._


	2. Chapter 2

**Much to Be Thankful For - Chapter Two**

 **Back from Break**

* * *

The first day back from a break was always a little bit rugged, but usually by the time the kids got to his class, they had managed to shake off their malaise. That wasn't the case today; instead of happy, albeit tired faces, a good chunk of his students greeted him with despondence.

"Wow," Rick started, looking around the room. "I would ask about your break, but obviously the answer is not good. Did you venture out into the Black Friday madness?"

The kids at the front – Miranda and Ben, he noted – sighed, shaking their heads.

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Castle," Miranda said. Her tone suggested he absolutely should worry about it, but he was willing to let it go for the time being. They had a lot of work to do before the end of the semester, and not much time to get it done.

"Did you have a good break?" Another of his students asked, sitting up straighter when he passed by with a stack of graded papers.

Rick gave her an easy smile. "I did," he answered, dividing the pile in his hand and offering it to her for help. "My mother almost gave us food poisoning by way of salt overdose in our mashed potatoes, but we had an excellent meal otherwise. The rest of the weekend was quiet and relaxing. Until I read some of your papers, anyway."

The class groaned, and a few brave souls piped up to argue a lack of time to work on the assignment. Rick's cheek twitched, remembering having made a similar case more than once when he was in school.

"Nice try, but you had the entire month leading up to Thanksgiving. And you've got until next week to get your final draft in to me. It's more than fair, I'd say." He was met with grumbles, but nobody disputed it. "Now, once you get your papers back, we'll go over some of the issues I noticed most often, and if you have anything specific to your own work that you want to talk to me about, we'll meet for a while after class. How's that?"

He looked around to see nods of agreement, albeit many reluctant.

"Hey," he said, getting their attention. "Guys, I was just messing with you. Your papers are not that bad, I promise."

Their shoulders relaxed at the reassurance, and he noticed they didn't hesitate to turn their work over after that. Rick hid a smile. They were good kids, hard-working; they never liked doing poorly on assignments, even the ones they procrastinated starting.

"Okay," he said once everyone had their paper. Their eyes tracked him on his way back to the white board. "Let's start with the intros."

By the time class ended, their moods had improved considerably, but he could tell something was still on many of their minds. He said goodbye to most of his students, reminding them to email him if they needed additional help, before turning to those who remained.

Rick clasped his hands, glancing between them. "All right, who wants to go first?"

Forty-five minutes and five meetings later, only Ben and Miranda remained, and as they shared a look, Rick got the feeling they wanted to discuss more than just their final drafts.

He and Kate had enjoyed a few chuckles about their students' attempt to set them up on a date, even sharing the tale at Thanksgiving dinner, but then the antics had slipped his mind and they'd gone about their weekend. Now as he watched the well-meaning matchmakers slump, it occurred to him that they might have been waiting for some word from him about the success or failure their plan.

"Okay, guys. What's going on? Why do you look like someone stole the last of your favorite pie on Thursday?"

"Ms. Beckett's engaged!" Miranda blurted out, despair heavy in every syllable. "Did you know that? Lucy spotted the ring from across the hall this morning, it's so big. And when she asked about it, Ms. Beckett said it happened over the weekend."

Rick blinked. "She's–oh, that's why you're upset."

Their heads bobbed.

"You like her, Mr. Castle, and she likes you, but randomly she's getting married? What the hell?" Miranda continued, sharing a look with Ben. He nodded an agreement, opening and closing his mouth a few times as he thought about his words.

"We were really pulling for the two of you," the boy said finally, squirming at his desk. " _Everyone_ was. It just sucks."

Oh, jeez, they really were upset. Rick exhaled, leaning back in his chair to buy himself some time to think. He wasn't stupid, neither was Kate; they both knew keeping an engagement under wraps was going to be much harder than hiding their relationship, especially since his fiancée had no plans to take the ring off her finger. They had talked about people finding out, agreed that it wouldn't be the end of the world when they did. But even then, would she kill him for flat-out telling his students?

Probably. Since the entire school would likely know before the first bus arrived in the morning.

"Guys, it's–"

"Babe, are you ready? I'm taking the rest of this grading ho-ome."

For as often as he and Kate Beckett were on the same wavelength, it was apparently not one of those days. His fiancée stumbled just inside his classroom, her eyes flicking between him and the students that remained.

"Oh," she breathed. "I'm–sorry, I'll just–"

Rick extended a hand, cutting her off. "It's okay, come in. We're just finishing up." He turned back to his students, finding Ben and Miranda staring, mouths hanging open.

"You–" Miranda breathed. "I thought–"

"Mr. C," Ben started, not much better off than his companion. "Did you _propose_ instead of just asking her out?"

Kate's peel of laughter kept him from replying. "No, Ben," she added once she caught her breath. "He didn't propose to me out of the blue."

"Good, because I know we didn't put _that_ much on those cards."

Kate laughed again, moving around the kids to drop her bag beside Rick's desk and steal his chair. He couldn't help but give her a smile; she might freak out later, but for the moment she seemed calm about letting the cat out of the bag on the first day. He watched her thumb slide over the ring, saw her lips lift in contentment.

"You didn't just start dating either, did you?" Miranda accused, looking between them.

Rick took that one. "No, we've been dating for two years. Since Ms. Beckett asked me out."

He had to admit, he added that last part just to watch their reactions. He wasn't disappointed.

"You are so cool," Miranda breathed, new admiration shining in her eyes. "The last guy I asked out laughed in my face."

Rick's triumphant smile softened into something more sympathetic. "It won't always happen that way, Miranda. I am sorry that it did, though."

He saw Kate nod out of the corner of his eye. "He's right. And I know it probably hurt at the time, but at least you avoided dating someone who would do that."

Warmth flooded his belly; his fiancée was so good at that – finding ways to connect with the students without being patronizing or over the top. He loved that quiet empathy she possessed.

"Thanks, Ms. Beckett," Miranda murmured. "Thanks, Mr. Castle."

"You're welcome," they answered together, sharing an affectionate look. They did that a lot at home.

"Now," Rick continued, "do you need any actual help with your papers, or were you hanging around to yell at me for not getting the girl in time – even though I actually did."

His students laughed, looking a little sheepish. "The last one."

Yeah, he'd had a feeling. "In that case, get out of here. Go work on your papers for real. Let my lovely fiancée take me home."

Ben jumped to his feet first, grabbing his bag and tossing it over his shoulder while Miranda gathered her notebook and shoved it into her bookbag.

"See you tomorrow. Sorry about getting mad at you, Mr. Castle," she added, following Ben to the door.

Rick chuckled, lifting a hand in farewell. "Do your homework and you'll be forgiven."

They grinned from the doorway, nodding.

"And oh," Ben said, looking to Kate as well. "Congratulations."

Kate smiled, waving – her left hand, Rick noticed with no small amount of glee. "Thank you, Ben. Have a good night."

Both students nodded again. "You too," they said, disappearing down the hall.

Kate got to her feet as soon as they were gone. Rick watched her survey his things, her fingers drifting over his desk until she was satisfied that she'd grabbed everything he might need for the evening.

"You know they're going to tell everyone," he said, joining her behind his desk, slipping his palm over her back.

She nodded, leaning into his chest, swiping her lips over his, her smile wry. "I'm sure they're on their phones already, spreading the news."

"Mmm, probably. We're going to have to invite them to the wedding, otherwise Miranda might yell at me again."

"You think? They were taking you apart in here before I walked in."

His hand skimmed up her spine, cupping the back of her neck and holding her close. Kate murmured his name, a reminder to be careful given where they were; someone could walk in on them and turn it into an issue, engagement or no engagement.

"And you said I'd be the first one to tell people," he teased against her mouth, grinning wider when she huffed.

"I thought you were alone. You're usually alone by this point in the afternoon."

His lips touched hers again. "I'm alone now. Want to make the best of it?" His eyebrows wiggled. "I could lock the door and give us some time before we go home."

Kate hummed, rubbing her hands along his sides. "Or you could just let me take you home; we can be alone there, too."

"At least until my mother shows up unannounced. Because that would be our luck."

Kate laughed. "Still better than a custodian or worse showing up at the door here."

"Don't worry, I'd pay them off with those gift cards the kids gave me." Rick dodged her swatting hand, schooling his face as he pretended to weigh the options. His mother or the principal; which one would hold it over his head longer? "While I could live with the risks if it means fulfilling one of my greatest fantasies, I see your point. Take me home, Ms. Beckett."

She nipped at his lower lip, pulling away before he could get any ideas (any more ideas; he already had a few). "Good choice, Mr. Castle."

He caught her hand once they'd squirmed into their coats and lifted their bags onto their shoulders, brushing his fingertips over the stones of her ring. It was their ritual, taking one another's hand at the end of every work day, even for a moment, but this time when they reached the hallway, he didn't let go.

* * *

 _A/N: This is for everyone who asked to see the kids reacting to the reveal of Caskett's relationship after the first chapter. I hope you liked it! Thank you all once again for your kind words on this story - and on all my stories. It's a privilege to be able to share with you._


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